The Seville & Miller Chronicles: The Unforgiven
by AllyBaby31695
Summary: When Simon is accused of Miss Miller's murder, no one will believe he's innocent... until an old friend comes back and helps him prove his innocence... with a few friends. Simon's POV.
1. Chapter 1: The Discovery

I feel as if everything I had just disappeared. All of our guardians are either missing or dead due to prior circumstances. The only people I have to hold onto are my brothers and the Chipettes, and even that's not enough.

Within us, though, we're starting to fall apart at the seams. Alvin and I have been getting into the worst fights more often than ever. Jeanette and I have been extremely distant lately, but that's only because of Alvin and Brittany. Even Theodore and I are distant now, but it's not like we can help it.

I'm wanted... Dead or alive...

Now, I know what you're thinking. How can I be wanted when I don't do anything wrong? I'm not saying I didn't do anything. It's just that I wasn't the cause for this problem. I wasn't in control of what happened.

It's probably better if I told you the details.

Two days ago, Jake, my brothers and I came home from school an hour before Dave left for his business trip. I was ready as ever to take command as soon as he left and get to have my say... for once. The girls were walking home with us, and they decided that sleeping over gave them a free night away from Miss Miller and some relaxation from Claire leaving with Dave.

All was quiet for the few hours after Dave left before we all had to finally get to bed. Theodore, Eleanor and Melody were the first to go when they fell asleep after eating a feast for dinner. Alvin and Brittany got bored to sleep, I guess, and Jeanette, Wendy and Kelly willingly went to sleep.

I was still awake at around 11:00 that night when I suddenly heard something roll across the floor in my room. I slowly got out of the computer chair and walked towards the dresser, where I heard the sound come from.

I bent down to pick up a pen off the floor. There wasn't really a generic brand on it. It was just a plain black color with a silver base. I decided to click the pen to see if it had ink left.

It was the biggest mistake of my life.

This white smoke came out of the pen, filling up the room so fast I was overwhelmed. It was this overwhelming feeling that made me feel a bit dizzy.

Everything went blurry after a few seconds. The confusion forced me to collapse on the floor and black out until the next morning, when I would find out a gruesome discovery.

The next day, at about 9:30 AM, the six of us were sitting in Mrs. Shriver's history class, everything the same as it was before Dave left. Alvin tossed spitballs to the rest of the room, myself included. It's a good thing I sit next to Jake in history; he seldom ever gets hit with those trash heaps.

Nathan, the first-class bully at Edison Elementary, tossed paper airplanes at my head so hard they felt like glass shards. I was about irritated at this point, enduring about thirty minutes of Nathan's "target practice", as he called it. I had a test to finish, you know.

Just when I was about to explode from irritation, Principal Talbot sternly walked into the room, a concerned look dominating his face. He was wearing a deep black suit with a gray dress shirt and black tie to match.

I could hear Mr. Talbot get closer to me as I finished my test. I felt one of his cold hands touch my shoulder, so I stopped writing.

"I need the ten of you in my office," he told me. "Right now."

I gently pushed my paper aside and walked right behind Mr. Talbot, as did my brothers, Jake and the girls.

It was a long walk to the office. We had to walk the length of the building, walk up two flights of stairs, and walk half the length of the entire school again. The inside of his office was warmer than usual when we finally arrived, making the visit to his office just a bit more uncomfortable. Principal Talbot urged us to sit down, and even Alvin obeyed his orders. This never happened before, the ten of us being stuck together in his office like this, but we knew Principal Talbot meant business.

"Did you kids notice anyone missing this morning?" Talbot finally asked, looking at all of us for an instant answer.

"No, sir," Eleanor answered, breaking the silence after the question was asked. "I haven't noticed anything unusual at all."

"I did," Jeanette admitted. I could see the shyness in her eyes, but I figured she was just as nervous as I was. "Miss Miller was still sleeping in her bed when we left. She never sleeps in."

"She wasn't sleeping in, Jeanette," Talbot corrected. He reached into his desk and pulled out a newspaper that had Miss Miller's picture on the front page.

Jeanette and Eleanor instantly started crying the second they saw the headline. Brittany was just in a state of shock, too confused to cry. I took the paper from out of Brittany's hand and read the headline for myself:

_**"Local Elderly Woman Murdered In Her Sleep"**_

There was no way this could have been about Miss Miller. There was no way she was gone. I saw her last night and she was perfectly healthy. I had to continue reading the story to make sure:

_**"LOS ANGELES - To everyone in the neighborhood, Miss Beatrice Miller was a giver in more ways than one. She cared for three children in her Los Angeles home. She was everything a child could ask for, but she ended her life long before she could see them grow up.**_

_**"Miller was murdered in her bedroom at about 12:30 this morning. The autopsy proves the murder concept: her throat was slit and she was strangled before being left to die.**_

_**"A suspect is still on the run. If you have any information, please contact California State Police."**_

It was true. The proof was there in black and white. There was no denying it: Miss Miller was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it.


	2. Chapter 2: The Trouble Begins

I slowly walked out of Principal Talbot's office, heading for the exit door of the building. Being with everyone else and hearing that piece of news just didn't fit well with me. I could hear someone following me. Afraid it might be Talbot, I turned around to find it was only Jeanette.

"Something wrong?" she inquired, hoping for me to speak up.

I didn't say anything at first. I was trying to be cautious of what I said around her. I finally composed my thoughts and said, "I couldn't stand to see you hurt like that. It was too soon to see Miss Miller go, and I was sure I was going to do the same as you had done. I didn't want to believe it."

I kept my face turned away from her as I kept walking towards the main door. As I started to push the doors open to leave, two police officers were either waiting for admittance into the building or waiting for what they wanted.

Apparently, what they wanted was us.

"You kids know Beatrice Miller?" the female officer interrogated.

"Yes, ma'am," Jeanette and I answered. We were face to face with the head of the Los Angeles Police Department, and chills were going up our spines.

"I need you two for questioning. Where are your brothers and sisters?"

"They're still in the school building," I confessed, not wanting to get hurt. I could tell this wasn't going to get much better, so I just kept my mouth shut.

"Malone, get these kids into the back of the cruiser. If they don't cooperate, send for backup. I might have a handful as it is."

"Copy that, chief," Malone replied. He pulled out two sets of handcuffs. "Okay, you two, put your hands behind your backs."

Jeanette and I did as we were asked and put our hands behind our backs. Officer Malone handcuffed us, making the process seem easier than it should have been. We were walked to the cruiser and placed in the back seat, giving me time to think about a memory from my childhood relative to this.

It was in December during our first winter in the forest Alvin, Theodore and I lived in for a short time after we were born. There was a man living with us that Vinny had told us was just a friend, though I hardly believed it even then, with him sleeping with her and all. I knew she was married, and it wasn't hard to tell. She always had her wedding ring on her hand.

Anyway, we were getting up one morning and found police officers looking through our tree for him. My brothers and I hid under the couch until an officer resembling someone similar to the female officer we had met only minutes ago found us, scared for our lives. We were told he was arrested on domestic violence, DUI, and drug possession charges, and that Vinny was harmed during all of this.

Since then, Vinny always covered her body with long-sleeved dresses. She's never let anyone see the scars, not even us, but I know she has them. I was always afraid that our father might come back and harm her again, but since his release from prison, he's gone into hiding. At least my mother got rid of the ring.

Malone helped put my brothers and Jeanette's sisters in the cruiser, the female officer started it up, and the six of us were soon on our way to the station. The agony was growing as we reached our destination, and I was starting to get worried about where Jake and the other girls were. We finally arrived, and I was willing to do whatever it was they needed me to.

There were plenty of seats in the interrogation room, most of which we weren't going to use. Officers pulled out everything but two chairs and a table. My throat started to cave in as we were waiting for who would go in first.

Fortunately, the first one to go in there was Brittany, but she was scared out of her wits.

Malone sat Brittany in one of the two seats. The female officer, whose name I found out later was Officer Cameron, occupied the other seat. Officer Cameron started the conversation.

"Did you see anything last night?" Cameron asked.

Brittany was hesitant to answer, but she finally answered. "Yes, I did," she said. "I saw Miss Miller in her bed when I went to get a drink of water. Nothing was happening, but when I came back, I saw somebody over her. It was definitely a male, but it looked like…"

"Looked like who?"

Brittany closed her eyes and pointed to me. I turned to walk out of the room when two officers grabbed me by the arms. Brittany was being escorted out of the interrogation room, and I was being escorted in.

Officer Cameron gave me "the look" and angrily stared at me with it. "What were you doing last night around the time of the murder?" she asked, still giving me that hateful look.

"I was sound asleep," I answered, slightly nervous. "I wasn't anywhere near her home."

"I beg to differ. You live right next to them, don't you? That would give you enough time to commit the crime and be back before dawn."

"I would never do such a thing! What makes you think I could do anything like that?"

"Actually, we ran a DNA test on the fingerprints, or should I say claw prints, on Miss Miller's body. The only match to them is you."

_No_, I thought. _I couldn't have done that! I would never do that, but no one's going to believe me. I might as well give it up. It had to have been me… but how?_

Malone was behind me, able to get me in cuffs before I had a chance to break for it. Cameron grabbed me by the shoulders as I exited the interrogation room… arrested.


	3. Chapter 3: A Vision of Hell

I could see the look on everyone's face. Theodore and Eleanor shared a look of pure horror, which made me feel guilty even though I didn't do anything. Most everyone else stared at me in shock. Like that wasn't typical. The most surprising, however, was Jeanette's reaction to this incident.

She angrily glared at me. I was sure that she would find a way for me to be innocent. There was no evidence, or end to this mess, in sight.

Cameron took me away from the other officers. I could tell she had been in the business for an extremely long time from the way she threw me into the cruiser. The toss knocked me out, at least for a few hours.

The next thing I knew, I woke up in one of the jail cells. There was a bunk bed, a small table, and a bowl of food on the floor. _So much for the luxury suite,_ I thought.

"Have a good nap, kid?" Cameron asked. She still gave me that menacing glare as she did in the interrogation room, but her eyes seemed more sympathetic. Maybe there was a chance for me to get out of here after all.

I didn't answer her. I didn't know how to, exactly. It would have been better if I didn't, anyway.

I went to get something out of the food bowl to calm my nerves. The only thing in there was bread, so I just took a piece and shoved it in my mouth as Cameron started to walk away.

I asked Cameron if I could get out of the cell for a little while, maybe just stay in the cafeteria for a few minutes. She allowed it, but only for a half hour.

I walked to the cafeteria with her silently. I suddenly realized the lack of prisoners in the jail. It seemed as if the only people here were Officer Cameron and myself. It was creepy, to be honest with you. I expected more.

There was a television in front of one of the tables. I thought it would be useful to kill time with it. I changed the channel to a news station, where I saw the worst possible thing that could have happened yet: the entire country was against not only me, but they were against my brothers and the Chipettes as well.

"Now, we have new developments on the Miller murder case," a male reporter informed. "It appears as though the accused murderer, ten-year-old Simon Seville, has partners in crime, and they could be Miller's own adopted daughters. Richard Casey has more on this story. Richard?"

"Good evening, Martin," Richard greeted. "It appears that there were more prints on Miss Beatrice Miller's body. The suspect: possibly one of Miller's own adopted daughters. Things could have never taken a weirder twist than this, folks."

I instantly shut the TV off. My stomach suddenly ached of guilt that, during my fogged-up memory of that night, I dragged someone else into this mess. I got out of my seat and started walking towards the door.

"I'm going to bed," I told Cameron. "It's not worth being up to see what I've done to further screw up the world."

Behind me, I heard Cameron follow me out the door. She seemed sympathetic, which was different than what I expected. She caught up to me and told me that I was going to have a behavior analysis tomorrow. Just the place I wanted to be, I thought. I might die in here without anyone knowing my story. I just need to know someone is on my side.

I wished I were never born when I felt like that. The feeling never went away that night. I found myself waking up like this entire fiasco was just a dream, but just as soon realizing that my dream was real.

I couldn't sleep at all that first night in the cell. I kept thinking about Jeanette's reaction in the interrogation room before I left. I imagined her never speaking to me again, and it made me feel like I wanted to die. I never had that feeling before, and I knew I would feel like that every night, but there wasn't anything I could ever do about it.

Officer Cameron came into the cell the next morning with another prisoner who was going to share the cell with me. She was an odd-looking chipmunk: long black ponytail in her hair was made with a hair bow, had an ordinary pair of glasses, wore a t-shirt and jeans, and looked pale and as if she was chased by the cops all night. She was beautiful, there was no doubting that, but I couldn't help but think something was familiar about her.

Cameron left the room to have my new roommate settle.

I just made my way back to the bunk, wanting to be left alone. I turned away from her, knowing there was probably something that would be brought up that would get me upset.

She came over to me and sat on the edge of the mattress. "What's wrong, Simon?" she asked.

I tried to hide. "How do you know my name?"

She put her hand on my back. "I just happened to know it from the news story."

I turned to face her. "Everything," I answered, every feeling I felt since the day I came here closing in on my throat. "Everything's wrong. I don't belong here. I don't even deserve to live after what I did."

"What did you do again?" She seemed understanding enough to listen.

"I supposedly committed a murder, but I have no memory of it. I don't even remember going to sleep that night. That's how bad my memory of that night is."

The tears started coming out of me. I couldn't keep them in much longer. "It can't possibly get worse than this, and the worst part is, no one believes anything I say." I had to stop. I was making myself sick.

"I know how that feels," she replied. "I supposedly committed a crime. Now I feel alone because no one believes me."

I turned away from her again, shoving my face into my pillow. She grabbed a photo album out of the small bag that I was allowed to keep in the cell.

"What's this?" she asked, making sure that what I had wasn't private.

"A photo album," I replied. "It holds every memory I've ever had and everything I've ever done. Here, let me show you a few." I took the photo album out and started showing it to my cellmate.

The only picture I ended up showing her before I got emotional again was one of me, Alvin, Theodore & my mother, Vinny from when my brothers and I were born, and I will never forget the night I was separated from my mother forever.

I was never really separated mentally from my mother when she left me. There was still one thing that kept me connected to her, and that was the only gift I had ever gotten from her. She had given a small teddy bear when I was born with my first initial engraved in its left foot. It goes with me everywhere, and here is no exception. It's sitting in the bag I had the photo album in. I just don't show it as much as Theodore does.

I saw her slip something into my album as I went back up onto my bunk to go back to sleep. I asked what it was, but she didn't say anything. I guess I would have to find out for myself after a bit of sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Not A Dream Anymore

The next morning, I woke up to find my roommate gone from the cell. Officer Cameron was walking by, but stopped at my door to check in with me.

"How's it feel in there?" she asked, noticing I didn't look her straight in the eye.

"It doesn't feel right at all," I answered. "You ever have sympathy for any of the prisoners in the jail?"

"Only one, but that doesn't mean he won't get into trouble if I let him go."

There was an awkward silence between us before she continued.

"Something tells me I should trust him because somewhere in my heart, I believe every word he said. I'm just too professional to know that no kid would ever want to hurt anyone, though he might have committed the crime." She opened up the cell door.

I was extremely confused. I thought she was talking about someone else entirely. I never knew she meant me.

I felt so relieved she was letting me go. I jumped out of the bunk, got my things and was ready to go. Cameron stopped me halfway down the hall. She gave me a business card and told me, "If you need anything, just let me know."

_Finally_, I thought to myself, _free at last_. Now, the only thing I have left to do is to tell everyone the truth, even if it means no one believes me.

_This is going to be a _long_ night_, I thought.

I came out of the prison to find that I didn't miss anything after going in. The streets were still as crowded as ever, and things seemed normal. _It wasn't like anything would happen after 2 days_, I thought. Little did I know, things were about to get much worse.

A pitch-black motorcycle pulled up in front of me as I was about to go out into the street. The driver jumped off the seat and ran towards me, lifting her helmet off.

I instantly recognized the face from the jail the night before. "What's wrong?" I asked out of concern.

"It's something about your brothers and your friends," she replied, still running towards me. "I need you to come back to your place with me."

"Alright. I was heading home, anyway." I tried to sound sincere. I really was about to go home.

The both of us ran back to her bike, my ex-roommate getting on the front seat and me getting in the sidecar. She ignited the engine, pulled out of her homemade parking space, and drove us out of downtown L.A.

"I never got your name back at the jail," I said.

"Oh, sorry," came her reply. "I'm Allycia. You?"

"Simon."

"Stupid me. I should've known that. I've seen you around here before. So, did you ever look at the pictures I slipped into your scrapbook last night?"

I felt so stupid after those words left her mouth. I had completely forgotten about that. I pulled out the album from my bag, flipping through the pages to find where she put the pictures. There was an envelope stuffed inside the first empty page of the scrapbook. Assuming that this was what she put in there, I took it out and opened it up. There were tons of pictures of her with a group of boys. Somehow, all of these pictures brought back memories of the year my brothers, the Chipettes and I met Ally.

I looked at one of Allycia and her friends, only I had my suspicions that these boys weren't just friends. The one in green hugging her kind of resembled Theodore, the one with the backwards "A" cap definitely looked like Alvin, and the one with the huge glasses was somewhat like... me. I could've sworn I was losing my mind, but these pictures were vaguely familiar.

I kept looking at the pictures over and over again until we reached my place. I fished out my spare key to open the door for her. Outside the house, I didn't hear Alvin playing a video game with Brittany or Theodore and Eleanor cooking in the kitchen. _Something's wrong,_ I thought. _Something's really wrong._

We entered the house, looking at what I left behind the day after Ms. Miller's death. After a minute of searching, we found out no one was home. I started to feel so anxious of where everyone was that I could barely breathe.

"What happened?" I managed to ask, having no idea what was going on.

"Dave's not the only one missing anymore," she replied.

"You mean... my entire family is gone? I'm the only one left in my entire family not missing?"

"Everyone's gone but one person. You just haven't seen her too much."

I had a hunch about who it was. "You mean Vinny, right? My mom?"

"No, there's one more person. She's been away for quite some time."

I was extremely confused now. "Who's that?"

"You're looking at her."

_Wait a minute_, I thought. _She is _not_ related to me in any way whatsoever. She's lying_. I thought about those pictures again. _Was she really related to me?_

All of a sudden, it hit me. All this time, I thought she would never come back, but she did.

Allycia meant Ally - my Ally - and she was standing right in front of me.


	5. Chapter 5: Out Of Reach

"Ally, I never thought I'd see you again," I said.

She hugged me so tightly that I couldn't breathe again. "You remembered," she said gratefully.

"I had no idea it was you. What happened to you?"

"That's not important right now." She grabbed my arm and signaled me to run back to the bike. "I'll tell you about that later." She strapped herself into the seat after I got in the sidecar. She hit the gas, and we were off.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we took a right turn to get on the interstate.

"The police station," she answered. "There's some people that want to talk to you. They want to know about Alvin, Theo, Vinny, and everyone else involved."

I supposed it was the best option for me at this point. No one had seen them last but me, so I was the person of interest...

...Or the suspect.

_Here we go again_, I thought.

We reached the station after a few minutes of silence. An agent was expecting us outside, waiting for us alongside Officer Cameron. The agent was on his phone, talking about another case I guess, as we walked up to the front entrance. My neck stiffened, but I felt comfortable knowing that Ally was by my side.

"Simon, it's good to see you," Cameron greeted. "This is Agent Aaron Hotchner from the FBI. He's just here to ask you questions about your family. About what happened when you came to the jail."

Hotchner knelt down to shake my hand. "It's good to see you again," he told me. He started seeing the anxiety building up within me. "Don't worry. I'll be here with you every step of the way. I'm only here to help you." He stood back up. "You trust me, right?"

"Yes," I answered, "Of course I trust you. I'm just not comfortable talking about them being gone in general." I took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears from coming.

"I know it's hard right now, but you need to answer us when we ask you something. Okay?"

I nodded. I didn't want to end up making myself sick.

Just then, a silver Toyota Corolla pulled up in front of the four of us. The driver's side window rolled down.

"Hotch, is this the kid?" the driver asked.

Hotchner nodded, putting his hand on my shoulder and walking me over to the car. "You remeber Agent Reid, I'm sure. He's the one that's going to be asking you the questions," he introduced. He motioned me to go into the passenger's seat of the car. I heard Hotchner mutter something to the effect of: "Go easy on him. He's been through way too much these past few days."

I got into the seat of Reid's car, closing the door behind me. That's when he started the conversation.

"Is there any place in particular you feel comfortable talking to me about them?" he asked.

I thought about it for a minute, but I only thought of one place.

"Home," I decided.

"Where is 'home' exactly?"

"142 Johnson Avenue. It's in Downtown L.A. Just take this next left. You'll be downtown in seconds."

"Reid, got a fire in the downtown Los Angeles area," came Hotch's voice on Reid's walkie-talkie.

"Address?" he inquired.

"142 Johnson Ave."

"On the way."

Reid hit the gas, and we were good as gone.


	6. Chapter 6: The Demons

Reid came to an abrupt stop when we arrived at the house. All I could see from the window was a fire, but then again, I really didn't want to see anything.

"Stay in the car," Reid advised.

_Like I have a choice_, I thought.

As soon as Reid slammed that door, I was alone again. _Alone is such a strong word_, I thought to myself, _but it'll have to do for now_. I did want to be home, don't get me wrong. I just wanted to have more people with me, that's all. I needed someone to be with that was part of the family, but since no one's around, Reid is the next best thing.

I saw something jump on top of the car. I couldn't tell exactly what it was until it was staring at me in the face. It wasn't really a person as it was really more of a shadow. Black was the dominant color, along with green pupil-less eyes. I had no idea what it was namely, but something inside of me told me to run.

I got out of the car as fast as possible and ran for my life. The thing kept up with me for the longest time before more came along for the chase.

I dashed into an alleyway to hide. It seemed they didn't find me after a minute or two.

_Finally_, I thought, _some time alone_.

"Don't run from them," I heard someone say.

I tried looking for where the voice came from, but no luck. I couldn't find the source. It seemed as if it came from the wind, but there was no way to tell.

"Don't run form them," the voice repeated. "Fight them."

"How am I supposed to fight them?" I asked. "Those 'things' look like they could easily kill me!"

All of a sudden, something ended up in my hand. I didn't know how it got there, and I didn't know if it would really help me or not.

"Is this how I'm going to stop them?" I asked, questioning the seriousness of the matter.

"It's the only thing they fear," the voice answered. "Go and find them. I'm sure they'll be easy for you to kill."

I had to trust him, but I still wondered how an over-sized key was going to help me out with those freaks. I went to find them, using myself as bait.

I stood back out in the open, and soon enough, a pack of seven of them came from out of nowhere. I stabbed one of them with the key. It seemed to work, much to my surprise. After a couple of swings, I knocked all seven of them out cold.

I was surprised. Guess I didn't know my own strength.

"Well done," the voice applauded. "Now, if you really want to have an adventure, you'll go back home tonight."

"But I don't have a home anymore."

"Oh, that was where you used to live?"

I started to get nervous. "Look, I have no idea who you are. You need to show yourself so I can understand what's going on here."

"Oh, of course."

I kept looking for the source of the voice. Out of the corner of my eye, there was a duck standing within ten feet of me. Next to him was a tall, slender mouse of some sort.

"You have got to be kidding me," I said. "I was talking to the two of you the entire time?"

"Yep," the duck said. "Well, mostly me. I'm Donald, and this is Goofy."

It felt weird talking to them, but I figured they would be good allies in the long run. "I'm Simon. Nice to meet the both of you." I held my hand out to shake theirs. "How did you know those things were here?"

"Trust us. We know everywhere the Heartless go."

I was confused. "I thought we were talking about those things I just attacked."

Donald slapped his face. "We are. Those things are called the Heartless. They go around stealing the purest hearts in every area. We would have brought the keybearer with us, but the Heartless is attacking his world as well. We couldn't get him here to help you."

Suddenly, Donald's walkie-talkie had gotten reception and a call came on. "Donald! Come in, Donald!"

Donald hit the button. "What's going on over there?"

"We did defeat the Heartless, but Sora's injured. Did you find the keybearer that's going to take his place?"

"Sure did, your majesty. In fact, we were just talking to him. The Heartless have access to his world now."

The recipient sounded surprised. "Well, that's earlier than we expected." He paused to take a breath. "No matter. Bring him to the Destiny Islands as soon as possible. He must be trained."

"Trained? We never trained Sora with the keyblade!"

"Fine. I'll settle for no training, but he must be willing to spend time in the Islands."

"Well said, your majesty. We will be there momentarily. However, the chosen one won't arrive until later this evening."

"I'll agree to that. Over and out."

"Looks like you're going to be with us for a while. Meet us in front of your old place at about eight. It could be a long before you come home."

I couldn't believe it. I was leaving home to go on a journey with two complete strangers. This broke the limit for the stupidest thing I've ever done.

"I'll go with you," I agreed, "but on one condition. You guys must agree to help me find my family."

"Okay, kid," Donald said. "It's a deal. Better say your goodbyes. You've got four hours."

I headed off to say my goodbyes to Reid, Hotch, and the other agents.


	7. Chapter 7: The Secret Organization

After leaving Donald and Goofy, I was only able to make it halfway to the station before Ally caught up to me.

"I heard you were in some trouble back there," she said. "What happened?"

"I was sitting in Reid's car when these black shadow-things came to attack me. I tried running, but eventually, I was able to hold them down."

She seemed surprised. "You _did_? How?"

"Well, someone gave me this to kill them." I held the key out for her to see.

"I didn't know they came that big."

"Neither did I, but it was what they gave me to use."

She kept looking at the key, and then looking back at me. "You did that yourself?"

The thought never dawned me until now. "I guess so."

She went back to her motorbike. "Come on, Si. I want to show you something."

"What are you going to show me exactly?"

"What I've been doing for the past few months."

She motioned me into the sidecar, and we were off.

I felt my back lean harshly against the seat of the sidecar. "Why are we going so fast?"

She turned around. "I have to hit the gas because if I go any slower, I can't get to where I need to go." She abruptly stopped at the edge of a section of Highway 7, turning her motorbike quick enough to stop before it fell off the side of the road.

"Well, here we are," she said. "This is where I've been secretly for the past few months."

I was stunned. "Here? Right in this spot?"

She bursted out laughing. "Not here. Down there!"

Now I really thought she was nuts. "But how do you get there from here? This is a easy suicide jump!"

"Like this." She snapped her fingers. All of what was left of my stuff was being put into a messenger bag while both the bike itself and the sidecar turned into hover boards.

I was speechless.

I was brought back to reality when I felt Ally drop the bag filled with my possessions on my shoulder.

"Come on!" she yelled. "I'll meet you down there!"

I struggled trying to accomplish getting on the damn thing. I had no idea how to control it, which made this fiasco seem even worse. Eventually, I got on the board and was able to steer it to a small clearing where Ally was standing. Unfortunately, my success became failure when I fell off the board.

"You okay?" Ally asked, helping me get up off the ground.

"Fine," I replied. "Now, where are we?"

Ally pulled a branch on one of the nearby trees, and suddenly a doorway was made in one of the other trees. She pulled me along and we went inside the tree.

There was a security system installed inside. Ally placed her hand on the scanner, and she was approved.

I suddenly realized the entire room inside the tree was an elevator when we started getting further and further into the ground.

"Don't worry," Ally insisted. "I've been through this thing a million times. You'll get used to it... eventually."

_Good news for once_, I thought.

We eventually reached the bottom floor. The door across the room opened, and we entered what seemed to be the headquarters of a local organization.

"Welcome to the Investigation Alliance headquarters, Si," Ally introduced.

My assumption was dead on. "What does that mean exactly?" I asked.

"It means that we investigate mysterious happenings across the country. We do this sort of thing for a living. All of us eat, sleep, and hang out together. We were best friends when we started this group." She led us to a conference room, where a few other girls were talking.

"You stay out here until I tell you to come in," she ordered.

"Good enough for me," I agreed.

Ally went into the conference room and began talking to them. They seemed to be excited and were agreeing with everything she was telling them. She had one of the girls go through a drawer in the desk in the far corner of the room, while another was sent to look through the closet for something else. Both items were given to Ally, and soon enough, Ally came out with a badge and a taser gun.

"Welcome to the team," she congratulated.


	8. Chapter 8: Introductions

Ally escorted me in the conference room, where she started to introduce me to the rest of the team.

"Girls, this is Simon, my ex-boyfriend," she began. "Simon, these are the others on the team."

_She's got a new boyfriend? _I thought to myself.

Focusing on the task at hand, Ally pointed to a chipette with brown hair in a long ponytail and small round glasses. "Hilary is our secretary: she receives the calls for our cases." I admired how she looked so much like Jeanette.

_Oh God_, I thought. _The tears are coming back_.

Ally continued, pointing to the black-haired chipette sitting next to Kelly who seemed to be of Cambodian descent. "Sammie is the technical analyst. If anyone can get you information, it's her."

She appeared to be eating teriyaki out of a take-out box. _Must be her lunch break_, I thought.

"Tracy is our interrogator. The job sounds intimidating, but she's really sweet when you get to know her," Ally told me. I looked at Autumn, admiring her long and flowing blonde hair.

Ally introduced me to the last girl in the room. "Danielle is our behavior investigator. She's the one that goes into people's files and track them down." To me, Danielle didn't appeal to me as tough.

Ally switched the focus of the conversation. "I'm the leader of the Alliance, and I basically excel in everything that has to do with it and help everyone with their jobs. Lately, however, we've been looking for someone who specializes in undercover investigation. That's why we need you, Si. We need you to be our undercover agent so we can get more of a handle on our cases."

I couldn't believe it. I was being given the chance to be part of an organization that would help the benefit of others.

"I'd be honored," I finally accepted.

"Great! You can start right away."

"How's about right now? I've got a few cases already set up for us."

"Don't just stand there! Tell us!"

I tried to gather enough composure to talk about the first case I had in mind, but no luck. "Ally, you probably know what I'm talking about when I say that I can't talk about the first one. You think you can elaborate for the girls?"

"I'd be delighted to."

Ally started talking to the others about the sudden disappearances of my family members and friends. I couldn't bear to hear it being explained to the girls, so I just laid low. The tears gradually came back, and the girls came to my side as support. They could tell where I was coming from, since most of them were crying with me.

"Give him his space, girls," Ally ordered. "Anyways, you said you wanted to tell us something, Simon?"

I realized then that they were truly there for me and not just interested in what I had to say. "I came across these shadow-like beasts just a while ago. I ended up eventually killing them off with this."

I put the key on the table for the girls to see. None of them seemed to be phased by it. I assume weirder things have happened to the team.

"So, are we taking the case or not?" I asked after a few silent moments.

Ally smiled. "Yes, we are." She turned to the girls. "Alright, team. Let's get to work!"

Tracy and Hilary got up from their seats. "Sorry, boss," Tracy apologized. "We're off shift right now. It's 7:30."

The time triggered my memory of the task at hand. "I need to leave, too. Say, I have to meet Donald and Goofy at my old place. You guys want to join me? It could get us ahead in this case."

Ally grinned. "I'm in!" she responded. "What about the rest of you?"

"Sure!" Sammie replied.

The others nodded in agreement with Ally. Given the chances of solving this case (and getting their help to find the rest of my family), what did we have to lose?

"Let's go, people!" Ally ordered.

Letting the others get ahead, Ally and I decide to hang back.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked.

"Trust me, I've got it under control," I answered. I just hoped things wouldn't get too out of control.


	9. Chapter 9: Destiny Islands Part 1

After a few minutes of explaining the directions, we finally arrived. In place of the empty lot that I had seen only a few hours ago, there was a small tower. Donald and Goofy were standing at its door, waiting for my arrival.

"You made it just in time, kid," Donald told me. "Who are your friends?"

"Well, these are my friends and teammates from the Investigation Alliance," I answered, introducing everyone. "I was wondering if maybe I could bring them along."

Donald seemed hesitant. "I'll have to think about it."

Goofy whispered something to Donald, sparking his interest. Donald nodded and seemed to agree with what he was saying.

Donald turned back to me. "You can bring them with you, but not all of them will be able to fit in the ship. I mean, if we end up finding your family members out in the other worlds, we might have to keep them with us. If not, we have to send them to the King's palace for hospitality."

I held out my hand. "Deal."

Donald shook my hand while Goofy opened the door of the tower. "All right, ladies. Follow Goofy inside." He grabbed me by the shoulder and kept me in the back of the group. "Why are all your friends girls?"

I struggled for an answer. "They were all I could find, and they were the only people that I would be able to get along with."

We could hear Goofy's voice from the top of the stairs. "Alright, girls. Go in one at a time," he ordered.

"Wait a minute, Goofy!" Donald interrupted. "Someone needs to stay here to make sure the Heartless doesn't attack."

Danielle threw her fist into her palm. "Leave that to me, sir!" she said enthusiastically while the others filed in.

I stopped dead when I saw the portal, getting nervous that I might not ever come back.

"What are you waiting for?" Donald asked. "Go in!"

I reluctantly stepped through the portal, becoming increasingly queasy.

"Don't worry about going through here and everything. You'll get used to it. Just hold on tight."

_Hold on to what?_ I thought.

I saw Goofy and the girls land on a small sandy shore of an island. Unfortunately for me, I didn't end up in the same place. The last thing I felt was a rapid sinking sensation before I ended up passing out.

The first thing I heard when I got out of it was Ally asking if I was okay.

"He's fine," went an unfamiliar feminine voice. "He's waking up."

"His body must be sore as hell, though," came another voice, masculine this time.

"For God's sake, Riku! Of course his body's going to hurt! So would yours! Now, do me a favor and check on Sora."

"Whatever, Kairi."

I heard footsteps get softer and softer, though I could barely see the person that had made them.

The girl giggled. "Oh, sorry. Here's your glasses." She placed the glasses on me so I wouldn't have to move.

I was finally able to see the room I was kept in. Ally was sitting by my side in a small chair. Opposite of her was a girl with red hair, a white tank top, a purple skirt, and sneakers. I had to assume she was Kairi, since she was the only other person in the room.

"What happened?" I asked before my throat became sore, rendering me unable to say anything.

"You fell into the water about a quarter mile from the shore. My friend Sora came in and saved you from sinking any further than ten feet."

The name Sora rang a bell. I had heard Donald and his boss talking about him being injured during the fight against the Heartless. How could he have had so much energy to get me out of the water?

"You look pale," Kairi noticed. "I better go find you something to eat. I can tell you must be starving."

As Kairi walked out of the room, Ally grabbed a water bottle from out of her bag. "Here," she said. "You're going to need this more than me." I saw her pull out a notebook and a pen.

I took the notebook and pen, placed them on the table next to me and reached for the water.

As if my luck weren't bad enough, I wasn't able to reach it. Ally grabbed the bottle and allowed it for easier reach. I took the bottle and drank half the bottle in one shot.

Even after the half-bottle of water, there was still no way I could talk. I took the notebook and pen and started writing about what happened to Donald, Goofy and the rest of the team. I passed the notebook back to Ally and waited for an answer while Kairi came in with the first meal I had since the jail.

"Here you go," she said. "I hope you don't mind the fruit. We have a surplus here on the island."

Ally went over to Kairi. "Sorry he's so quiet right now. He's got a bad case of laryngitis."

"Must be all the salty water in that part of the sea. You better stay in here with him. I'll tell the King about his condition."

Kairi left the room and Ally came back over to me, passing me back the notebook.

I started to feel my throat cave in. I tapped the pen for Ally to notice me, and she went to the door. "Kairi! I need some help in here!"

Ally came back to my side and grabbed my hand, the last thing I remember before losing consciousness again.


	10. Chapter 10: Destiny Islands Part 2

The first thing I felt while gaining consciousness was something being shoved in my mouth. I could see that it was an inhaler.

_I had an asthma attack_, I thought. I hadn't had one in years. _I guess the trauma from the drowning caused it, but why would it come back now?_

"Good, he's recovering," Kari announced, talking to the others who were outside in the hall.

"Great," came a voice from outside of the room. "Maybe he's ready to go tomorrow after all."

Kairi turned towards the door. "Sora!" Kairi cried out. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I came to see him," he answered, walking into the room on a crutch.

"So, this is who Donald and Goofy could find?" Riku, the kid Kairi was arguing with earlier, asked. "He's so small. I mean, how could he possibly fight off the Heartless?"

Just then, Donald walked into the room. "Don't underestimate him, Riku," he warned. "I saw him defeat them a pack of six or seven of them myself. He's a hell of a fighter."

Riku looked at me, then looked back at Donald. "Damn, he's good."

"He's not just good," Sora corrected. "He's like… invincible."

"Which makes him all the better to join us, but he needs to get some exercise in before he can go anywhere."

"Good idea, Riku," Kairi agreed. "Why don't you join us outside after you eat that food I gave you?"

I nodded, and everyone left the room but Sora. He took a seat in the chair Ally was sitting in and laid his crutches next to the table.

"I'm glad I got you out of there when I did," Sora said, relieved. "If I got you any later, you might not have made it." He noticed that I wasn't reaching for the food Kairi had given me. "Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm not hungry," I answered truthfully.

Sora held out his hand. "Come with me. You look like you need to get some air."

I took Sora's hand, allowing him to pull me up into a standing position. "Thanks, that might be just what I need."

Sora walked with me to a small part of the island enveloped in a cave. He took me over to a small chalk-made picture on one of the wall.

"I made this when Riku and I made our own little club when we were kids," he informed. "I look at it when I want to remember the good ol' days." He paused for a moment, smiling. "Anyways, I needed to tell you something. I have to leave tomorrow with the rest of the gang. Just stay here and try to stop the Heartless if they come here."

"I'll do what I can," I promised.

All of a sudden, the entire cave went dark. I couldn't see a thing. When the light returned, I was still on the island – and Sora was gone. I tried to rush to the exit of the cave, but the light in the cave was getting dimmer by the second. There was a boulder blocking the entire exit, and I realized that it must have been the work of the Heartless. Before the cave went pitch-black, I grabbed a few pieces of chipped wood and was able to set a fire.

One thing remained clear: if I couldn't find a way out, everyone I knew, including the family I (once) had, would be doomed.


	11. Chapter 11: Escape To Another World

I started thinking of ways to get out of the situation I was in, making glances at the boulder that blocked my exit. Since my fire was almost out, I ignited the twigs again and grabbed more wood to light. I figured the fire would burn a hole in the boulder for me to get out.

I tossed the lit wood, hitting the boulder directly in the middle. Unfortunately, the fire only pecked a burn mark in the rock and put itself out when it hit the ground.

_There must be another way out_, I thought. I closed my eyes and tried to think. The keyblade popped up in my hand, and I glanced at the wall, an idea becoming clear in my head.

Without letting the key go, I grabbed a piece of chalk and went to the boulder. Subconsciously, I drew a keyhole in the rock and backed up. I pointed the end of the key towards the hole. The key and the drawing started glowing. The light soon became blinding, and I was pushed back by the key's force. I ended up pinned against the cave's far wall, unable to see. When the light dimmed enough for me to see, the boulder was gone, allowing me to get out. I ran out of the cave, only to see the rest of the island in a devastating condition.

There was no one left on the island but a male and a female I had never seen before. The two of them turned to me and started to get up from their positions. The male had curly black hair, a green skin-tight tank top with black vertical stripes and a yellow star on the chest, black denim capris, and white sneakers. The female had brown hair with blonde, red and black highlights, a white tank top, a denim skirt decorated with red fabric sewn on in the shape of a heart, a pair of short black high-heeled boots, and a purple shawl. Both of them came over to me with concerned faces.

"We thought you were never going to get out!" the female exclaimed, relieved and excited for me at the same time.

"Yeah," the male replied. "We were expecting you to call for help soon. How'd you get out, anyway?"

"Uh, Lex, he's got the keyblade. He probably drew a fake keyhole and used the 'blade to activate it."

"How'd you know?" I asked, astonished.

The girl blushed. "Lucky guess. So, you're Sora's replacement, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"That's disturbing," the male said.

"Aww, Lexi!" the girl angrily commented. "What the hell are you talking about? I think he's cute!"

He sneered. "I hate it when you call me that."

I blushed. I had never been complimented so sweetly in my life (well, maybe except for Jeanette, but she's always complimenting me).

"Anyways, I'm Lunaria, but you can call me Luna," the girl introduced. "This is my brother Lexus, or Lex, if you want to call him that."

I held out my hand to shake theirs. "Nice to meet you guys. So, what happened to the island?"

Luna seemed ashamed. "It was the Heartless. They came in the form of a fog and took everyone. Fortunately, Donald and Goofy were just sent back to the Disney Castle. The rest were placed in different worlds under the Heartless' captivity. We need to go see them at the Disney Castle before we do anything."

"By the way…" Lexus added, "…we found this at the Disney Castle, where Luna and I just were before we came." He was holding something I thought I would never see again: Alvin's cap. "Pluto was playing with it when we came. We thought you might recognize it."

"I do," I answered. "It's my brother Alvin's. He was missing for almost a week now. Where did Pluto find it?"

"I don't know…"

"…But that means he couldn't have gone far!" Luna enthusiastically replied. "Come on, if we leave for the Disney Castle right now, we can find him!"

"Let's go, then. Take the lead, 'blade boy."

I held up the key. "Where exactly am I supposed to aim this thing?"

"Try out into the ocean. That usually is a place to put it to show you're traveling."

I pointed the keyblade towards the sea. Suddenly, steps rose above the water, leading to a portal.

"What are we waiting for?" I asked. "We need to go!"

I led the way into the portal, Luna and Lexus following behind.

We entered the Disney Castle, which was a much bigger place than I thought. We ended up in King Mickey's throne room, Queen Minnie sitting in her rightful spot.

"Luna! Lexus!" Minnie called out. "You've come back so early! How did you find him?"

"The island is torn apart, your majesty," Luna explained. "He was the only one on the island."

"Oh, dear. This is much worse than I thought. Donald! Goofy! They've returned!"

"Thank goodness," Donald gratefully said. "If we lost him, too, we'd be in much more trouble than we are now."

"Well, Donald, I think for protection, Luna and Lexus should go on your journey as well. You might need them."

"Agreed. Come on, you guys. We have no time to waste!"


	12. Chapter 12: Sense Of The Dragon

The five of us were just able to fit in the ship Donald and Goofy had. Lexus, who was the designated driver for us during the trip, noticed a note written in distinguishable purple ink.

Lexus quickly skimmed the letter. "Guys, we have a problem."

"What is it?" Donald asked, worried the problem was what he thought it was.

"It's the Organization. Here, let me read it:

_" 'You suckers fare better than I thought you would without your real keyblade master. So, I have prepared a challenge for his replacement. As soon as you find your little friends, I challenge all of you to a royal duel against the Heartless… if you're still alive, I mean. Good luck – I'm sure you're going to need it._

_" 'Yours evilly, Maleficent.' "_

"I knew it," Donald muttered. "She's always behind everything."

I just faced the window in tremendous anger. How could someone do this to me? How could this witch be so cruel?

Just then, I realized a connection between Miss Miller's supposed death and this journey I was about to embark on. Since Brittany couldn't clearly see me committing the crime, the Heartless could have just stolen her heart and staged it to be a murder. As for their cover-up, one of them must have made it look like it was me who had committed the crime. Those bastards are much more clever than I thought.

Luna came to my side. "I can tell you're upset, but we'll find them," she told me. "I promise."

"That doesn't mean they'll all be alive, though."

Luna put her arm on my shoulders. "Simon, if we find them dead, at least it's better than not finding them at all. We'll get through this together."

I turned to face Donald. "Where's our first stop?"

"The Land of Dragons. Apparently, the Huns and the Heartless are teaming up."

Luna froze in the middle of the ship.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"That's an easy one," Lexus replied. "She does that when she senses someone of importance on our journey. Who's our target, sis?"

"Not one of us," she began, "but not one of the Heartless."

"Can you get a description?"

"Well, it's a human – I know that for sure – but he's not of the realm."

"Keep going, Luna. You have to go deeper."

"He's of male gender with black hair. He's wearing a dress shirt, a pair of khaki slacks and a pair of black sneakers."

Lex smiled. "Now we're getting somewhere. Anybody think they know this guy?"

The idea of only one person came into my head. "My father, maybe," I suggested. "Is there anyone else?"

Luna kneeled down. "Yeah, another guy. He's a chipmunk, I think. He's got a blue cap and a Patriots jersey."

_Jake, _I thought.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my head. Luna turned to me. "Focus on the pain," she ordered. "It's the same pain I get when I sense people. As much as it hurts, just focus on it."

I did as ordered, and it was just as I thought. It was Dave and Jake, surrounded by a dozen of Heartless. They were with a soldier, whom was trying to fend them off.

"It is my father," I informed them, "but he's with my friend and a soldier, and Heartless are attacking them left and right."

"The soldier must be Mulan," Donald assumed. "She's the only one who takes in foreigners."

"Lex, get us there as fast as possible."

"Affirmative."

We landed in an empty field, trying to lay low in such a high-danger area. The palace wasn't too far, so Luna told us to start running. Lexus agreed and took the lead.

When we arrived, Huns were attacking as well as the Heartless.

"Here's the plan," I said. "Donald: you and Goofy watch the area and look out for more Huns. Lexus: help Mulan with the Huns. Luna: you're coming with me."

We split up to finish the duties assigned. Luna and I were able to make it to Dave and Jake, struggling to get free of the Heartless' grip.

"You handle Jake," I ordered. "I'll get my dad."

The key appeared in my hand right on cue, and one by one, I was able to get the Heartless off of Dave.

"Simon, what are you doing here?" Dave asked, extremely confused.

"It's a long story, Dave," I explained, "but right now's not the time. I need to get these things out of here right now. Just stay back."

I went off and destroyed them off in one shot. Dave and Jake just stood there amazed about their defeat.

"How'd you do that?"

"Don't worry about it, Dave."

"Simon, I don't understand why you're fighting like this. You could get hurt. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'll be fine, Dave. I'm doing this for your own good." It felt weird to say that to him, since what we were saying should have been reversed. "I'll be alright. Just go somewhere safe. I need to do this."

I heard Luna come up behind me. "Good, you're safe," she said, relieved. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You can take my father home. He shouldn't be a victim of this anymore." I bit my tongue, regretting my words. "On second thought, just leave him with Minnie at the Castle. I need to know he's safe. And bring Jake there, too."

"Can do, my friend." She took Dave by the hand and escorted him back to the ship.

After ten minutes, Mulan soon came over to me, a scroll in hand. "This is for you," she said, handing the scroll to me.

She left, and I opened up the scroll. It was Luna's handwriting.

_" 'Simon, Dave and Jake are safe at the Disney Castle. Lexus, Donald and Goofy went to Wonderland without you, but were able to find some people you might recognize and activate the keyhole. Find the keyhole in the Land of Dragons, activate it, and step through the portal. We'll meet you on the other side._

_" 'Your friend, Luna.' "_

Filled with relief, I went off to find the keyhole.

The palace seemed the most fitting for the location. I entered through the doorway, and the hole was right in front of me, carved into a gong. I aimed for the keyhole.

The portal began to open up, and I rushed in to meet everyone on the other side.


	13. Chapter 13: Lines And Vines

I seemed to have entered a rainforest when I stepped through the portal. Nevertheless, everyone was there, so I didn't lose anybody in the process.

"So, who did you find?" I asked, nervous of the answer.

Luna seemed to hesitate in answering. "See there's good news and bad news for the answer to that question. The good news is we found your friend Wendy and your neighbor, Miss Miller."

I sighed. "What's the bad news?"

Luna gulped. "You're not going to like this…"

"What happened, Luna?"

She took a deep breath. "Miss Miller really is dead."

I thought I was going to have a heart attack. "She's gone?" I could feel the tears building up.

"I'm sorry, Simon. I wished this wouldn't happen, but I couldn't control that."

I just walked away from her. I couldn't stand to hear it anymore.

Just then, I heard a sudden cry for help. It seemed to come from the village in the valley below us. I saw someone pass us by and use the vines to reach the village. I decided to do the same, everyone else following behind me.

I saw Claire, Kelly and another woman tied together on a chair, Heartless surrounding them. Someone was trying to fight them off, trying to save whom I assumed to be one of his friends trapped with Claire. Desperate to save Claire and Kelly, I decided to follow suit and join him.

I rushed down to the village. "You need some help?" I asked, hoping he would be able to hear me.

"It would be nice," he replied, successfully killing a Heartless.

I held onto one of the vines and swung at the Heartless, keyblade in hand. Striking two Heartless at once, I landed on my feet and continued to fight them off.

"I think I can finish the rest of them off," he said. "You go rescue Jane and her friends."

"On it," I replied, running to their aide.

I was able to free Jane first. With sympathy for her friend, she joined in fighting with him.

"What's going on?" Claire asked as I started to loosen the ropes.

"It's a bit hard to explain," I answered, trying to choose my words carefully. "I was chosen for the job, and I accepted." I let the ropes go, watching them drop to the ground. Claire and Kelly got up from the chairs and ran from the scene.

"We have to get out of here!" Luna yelled from one of the vines. "Grab my hand!"

As hard as I tried, I couldn't reach.

"Lower, boys! _Lower!_"

I was finally able to grab her hand. She pulled me up and hugged me.

"I'm so glad you're okay! I thought you weren't going to make it."

"Neither did I," I said.

"What are you two waiting for?" Donald yelled out. "Get in!"

Luna picked me up and took me back in the ship, where she had me sit on one of the chairs.

"You really need some rest, kid," Lexus insisted.

"Yeah, you'll need it," Luna agreed. "Go to sleep."

I stood up. "No, I won't."

Lexus gritted his teeth. "How dare you disobey my orders!" he yelled. "You think you can do whatever you want on this God damn ship? You think you're all that, you little smart ass?"

"Lex, I wouldn't if I were you…" Luna advised.

"What can the kid do, Luna? It's not like he can kick my ass."

Now I was pissed. "You're going to regret those words, you bastard!" I went at him full throttle. There was no holding back. I felt bad for Luna to just stand there, but I had no choice. I had to tell Lexus who was boss.

Luna finally intercepted us. "Leave him alone!" she cried out angrily, yelling at Lexus. "He's only a kid! He's younger than Sora was when he started being the keyblade master. If you're going to treat him like crap, leave! I've had it!"

I backed away from Luna, afraid she was going to snap at me next. She fell to the floor, having an emotional breakdown. Lexus went back to steering the ship and Donald and Goofy went back to their positions while I went over to Luna.

"Sorry about that," I said, trying to cover up the incident.

"It wasn't your fault. I should've known he was going to do that. Please, just do as he says."

"No, I won't. I have to find my family… whatever it takes."

_Exactly_, I thought.

_Whatever it takes…_


	14. Chapter 14: Diamond In The Rough

"We've arrived in Agrabah!" Donald exclaimed when I woke up the next morning. "Let's get moving!"

"Donald, let me do this trip alone," I insisted. "I need to learn to do it on my own."

"If you must…"

I walked out of the ship, looking at the palace in the distance. I needed to be alone for a while. I figured I was going to need the space.

I heard a voice call out my name, but no one was around me. No one was here. The voice called my name again.

"Who said that?" I asked, waiting for a response.

"Simon, it's me," it said. "Jeanette."

I was in shock. "Jeanette, where are you?"

"I'm in Agrabah near the palace. Find me. Hurry! I need your help!"

I ran as fast as I could to the palace. I entered the door, but as soon as I was deep enough into the palace, the doors shut on me. I was trapped inside.

I tried calling out Jeanette's name.

"I'm in the throne room!" I heard her yell out back. "Please hurry."

When I arrived at the throne room, there was no Jeanette. However, the moment I realized who was in the room with me, it was the most heroic yet stupidest idea I ever made.

Ally and one of the princesses of heart Donald was telling me about were tied up on the other end of the room. In their way was Jafar, the single most hated villain in the city, or so I was told.

"Innocent little boy," he said. "You have no idea what I could use to kill you. I mean, you know what they say: only the good die young, but you're pushing those limits too far. Shouldn't you be with the peasants?"

That damn scepter of his wasn't leaving my sight, but I stood my ground.

"You just don't get it, do you? I run the show here…" He pushed the scepter closer to my face. "…And your little act is not going to stop me."

I felt my entire body getting weaker by the second. I tried to stay conscious, but it was no use. Jafar had completely overcome me. I was out cold.

The next thing I knew, someone was rubbing my face with a towel, and I felt cold.

"Great, you're up," a girl in a white dress said, wiping my face off with the towel still. "Aladdin, he's fine. A bit wet, but he's fine."

"That's great, Naminé," the man, whom I assumed was Aladdin, said while walking into the room. "Do you think he'll want to come? He probably knows the girl Jasmine's with."

"I think so. Hey, you want to come with us to find Princess Jasmine?"

I shrugged. "I guess so," were the only words able to come out of my mouth.

The three of us headed back to the palace, and this time, I was completely prepared.

We walked into the palace, only to find the Heartless everywhere we looked. Aladdin cleared a path for me to go through to the girls.

"Thank goodness you're back," the princess sighed in relief. "Could you please get us out of here?"

"I'll do my best," I answered.

I was able to break them free when Jasmine noticed something in the air. She whispered something out of my range, and I then noticed it, too. My legs started to collapse.

"Aladdin! Naminé! Come quick!"

I heard the both of them rush in. I felt Aladdin pick me up before I fell unconscious again.

I had a dream when I fell asleep this time. It was just me standing in the desert like I had done earlier that night. I heard Jeanette's voice again. When I looked around for where she was, she was right behind me. She came over to hug me, but she was able to go right through me as if I wasn't there.

She turned back to me. "Save me," she whispered, disappearing into the dark.

"Wake up," I heard Ally order. "Come on, Si. Get up."

I opened my eyes, and I was back on the Gummi Ship. Ally, Luna, and Naminé were leaning over me. They all seemed quite concerned.

Ally was the first one to hug me as soon as I got up. "You're okay!" she reprieved, holding onto me as tightly as possible.

I hugged her back. It had been so long since I had seen her that I didn't want to let go. "I'm just glad you're alright," I said. "I didn't want anything to happen to you."

"Same here, Simon. Same here."


	15. Chapter 15: The Team

"Wow, what a view!" Ally exclaimed as we were on our way to the next world.

"I know," I agreed. "Amazing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I mean, look at the stars. There must be trillions."

"Actually, there's over nine hundred trillion," Luna pointed out.

Ally looked confused. "Who's this?"

I laughed. "Oh, right. This is Luna. We met when I was trying to leave the Destiny Islands. She's been here ever since."

"We're here!" Donald announced.

Ally by my side, I exited off the ship, realizing we must have been somewhere with the look of ancient Greece.

"Why are we at a coliseum?" I asked.

"You'll see," Donald answered, leading the way.

Donald led us into the coliseum, where one of the very few people I loved was standing out in the open.

"Theodore?" I asked. "Is that really you?"

"Simon!" Theodore yelled out, running over to hug me.

The girl he was with came to his side. "So, this is one of your brothers?"

Theodore blushed. "Oops! Sorry, Olette. Yes, this is my brother Simon."

She held out her hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," I said back. I suddenly realized the piece of news I wanted to tell Theodore.

"Theo, you remember how Mom said Ally would come back and we would always think she was lying?"

"Yeah," he answered innocently. "Why?"

Ally came to my side and gave Theodore a little wave.

Theodore stood there awestruck. "So she wasn't joking after all."

The two of us just started cracking up laughing. Theodore walked over to Ally. "So you're finally back, huh?" He looked her over. "Awesome."

I couldn't help but smile at Theodore's simple-minded ways at the particular moment, but I soon realized we had a bigger problem on our hands.

Just then, a three-headed dog the height of the coliseum walked into the arena area. Luna, Olette and Naminé hid behind Lexus, while I walked closer.

Theodore was panicking. "Are you insane?" he cried out. "That thing could kill you!"

I just looked up the beast. "Don't worry, Theodore," I told him. "I'm prepared."

Theodore saw the key appear in my hand. "Wait a minute, Simon!" He was holding onto another key.

Ally came running behind us, also a key in her hand. "Guys! Wait up!" she called out. "Maybe the three of us can get rid of this thing together. It couldn't hurt to try."

I grinned. "Let's do this."

Keyblades in hand, the three of us ran up to the beast and each took a head. I was able to chop the first head off easily.

"How do you use this thing?" Theodore cried out.

"Just use it like a sword," I directed. "That's the easiest way to do it."

With a bit of trial and error, Theodore was able to cut the second head off. Ally, however, was still struggling.

I caught up to Theodore. "On the count of three, we both go at it and let Ally slide on this one."

"Got it."

"One…"

The mouth of the third head was opening.

"Two…"

Ally was inches away from the mouth.

"Three!"

Theodore and I jumped into action, giving Ally some free will to move the blade in her hand. The third head fell off, and the three of us were exhausted.

"Can we go home yet?" Theodore asked, panting between every other word.

"Sorry, Theodore," I replied, "but we can't. There's still a lot to be done, unfortunately."

"We have to go, you guys!" Luna cried out. "I think we have a trail on Riku!"

The three of us got back into the ship, excited about the rest of our journey.


	16. Chapter 16: The Missing Link

"So, where is he?" I asked, looking out the window again.

"We believe he's somewhere in the Pride Lands."

"We've arrived," Lexus said solemnly.

Everyone exited off the ship. Suddenly, there were growls coming from all around us.

_Heartless_, I thought. _It has to be_.

Suddenly, a lion came out of nowhere and pinned me to the ground. The face he appeared to have was no match for his fierce eyes.

"Simba, let him go," a familiar voice says. "He's good."

"Riku!" I heard Naminé scream. "You're safe!"

He laughed. "I'm fine. So, did you guys find Kairi?"

I stood up after Simba got off of me. "Sorry, Riku," I answered. "No sight after we got separated."

"Now, didn't you say you found someone else?" Luna interrupted.

"Oh, right," he said. "Follow me."

I was able to catch up to Riku. "So, who did you find?" I asked out of curiosity.

"One of your brothers. I see you've already found one of them."

"Alvin?"

"I think that's what he said his name was. He's in the Elephant Graveyard. Scar's got him hostage."

I ran ahead. "We have no time to lose!" I stopped a bit to let Riku and the others catch up.

"What's the matter, Riku?" I asked. "Can't handle the pressure?"

Riku picked up the pace and turned our journey into friendly competition. For our sake, we had to be faster anyway. Otherwise, we would have never made it before the hyenas got to Alvin.

"You take on the Heartless in this area. I'm going to find Alvin."

"Signal me if you need backup," he said as I went in search of my brother.

I found Alvin pinned to the ground by another lion, this one with a black mane.

"Get off him, you dirtbag!" I yelled.

The lion just turned and growled at me.

"I said get off of him!" I repeated, louder this time.

The lion jumped at me and took me down. His open mouth was inches away when he fell on his side. Someone let out a hand, and I grabbed it.

"You okay, bro?" Alvin asked purely out of concern, holding a 'blade in his hand.

"I'm fine, thanks to you," I answered, hugging Alvin. "I missed you."

Alvin hugged me back. "Missed you too, bro." He felt my head against his shoulder. "Simon, are you crying?"

I sniffled. "No, I just have something in my eyes."

"I understand." He wiped his eye. "I understand completely."

"Simon! Alvey!" Theodore yelled out. "You guys are okay!"

"Theodore!" Alvin and I yelled simultaneously.

The three of us joined in a huge hug, my brothers crushing me to pieces.

"Guys, you can get off now," I said.

Theodore and Alvin got off of me, allowing me to brush myself off.

"So, where's Dave?" Alvin asked.

"He's safe at the Disney Castle."

"Claire?"

"Same."

"Miss Miller?"

I bit my tongue. "You see, she's… she's…"

"She's really gone?"

Feeling the tears come back, I nodded. "I'm sorry."

I fell to the floor, tears dripping down my face.

"We have to get him out of here!" Riku insisted. "Take him back to the ship. He needs more rest."

Half asleep and full of despair at this point, I only remembered Alvin and Theodore carrying me back to the ship.

I ended up falling asleep on the ship on the way to the next world.


	17. Chapter 17: Stop And Stare

The next thing I knew, we were already in the next world. Theodore was at my side, eating something he had in his pocket.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Some sort of woods," he replied. "The weird thing is: there's been no Heartless at all here."

I was confused. "That is weird. Well, at least we have a break."

"Guys!" Alvin yelled. "The chick you guys were hanging out with found Eleanor!"

"That's great!" Theodore exclaimed.

"Wait, which girl?" I asked.

"Chipmunk, long black hair…" Alvin answered.

"Uh, Alvin..."

Alvin looked confused. "That's Ally, isn't it?"

"Yes, Alvin."

"Cool! Mom wasn't lying after all."

"Guys," Riku interrupted, "your friend's in that garden over there."

The three of us were relieved. "Eleanor!" We rushed over to her in a sprint and Theodore jumped on her.

"Miss us?" Theodore asked.

"Theo!" Eleanor exclaimed, grabbing him in a hug.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," I said.

"Boys! Oh, wow! I never thought I'd see you guys again."

"Neither did we," Alvin added. "We're just glad you're alright."

"Aww, boys! You guys are too good to me." Her face turned from excitement to concern. "Did you guys find Brittany and Jeanette?"

"Sorry," I said. "We haven't yet."

"We'll find them," Alvin promised. "Just stay with us. You'll be okay."

Later, Riku and I were the last two up. It was about one in the morning, and Riku and I didn't speak for a while.

Riku decided to break the silence. "There's something that I haven't told you," he said. "There's always someone in a group like this that ends up joining the Heartless. Don't be surprised if the person that joins them means something to you."

I thought about his words. There wasn't anyone that really would join them.

"I don't understand," I complained. "Why would somebody I know do that?"

"Sometimes, it's not by choice," he explained. "Every once in a while, they'll be forced to join." He stopped to take a breath. "Still others trust them until they have to fight their greatest allies. The trust is rare, but it does happen."

"What happens when someone wants them released from the darkness?" The question was bugging me at the moment.

"Usually, there are a few options. The first option is to leave them be and deal with it."

"That's not fair."

He raised his voice. "Life's not fair, Simon." He sighed. "Now, as I was saying, the second option is to defeat them in battle. Depending on the injury, you could end up killing them."

I was in shock. I would never want to kill anyone.

"Finally," he continued, "you could release your heart. It kills you, but if you have to, you have to."

"Do we know who it is?"

"From what I've heard, it's one of the girls. Yours, not mine."

I looked up, seeing a heart-shaped moon cover the night sky.

"Amazing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it in my life."

"That's what we call a destiny moon. It only appears when someone is doing what their heart tells them to do. It seems we've been doing it all this time. It feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does."

"What does your heart tell you right now?"

"It's telling me that I'll know what to do when I have to fight my greatest enemy… and my greatest allies."

"I guess you really do know what you're doing."

"Yeah, I guess I do…"


	18. Chapter 18: Recovery

"We've made it to Atlantica!" Lexus announced the next day.

Exiting the ship, I realized I couldn't move my legs unless I moved them together. I looked down and saw that my legs were stuck together in a fish tail.

_Well, this is embarrassing_, I thought.

As soon as I realized everyone else had one, the awkwardness went away. The castle we were swimming to had been surrounded by darkness. We were ready for another challenge, I suppose. Surrounded by Heartless in front of the castle was Kairi, struggling to verbally fight them off.

Riku motioned me to go with him to save Kairi. The rest dispersed to see if more Heartless were around.

We began to fight the Heartless, who were starting to physically attack Kairi. They were over with in one shot.

"How many more of those bastards do we have to fight?" I asked, panting as we swam towards Kairi.

"I don't know," Riku answered, "But let's just check on Kairi for now."

Kairi got up from the ground and brushed herself off. "I'm fine, you guys."

"You said you found someone, right?"

"Oh, you mean Brittany." She looked around her. "Where'd she go?"

I sighed grievingly. It was exactly like Brittany to run off like that, but then I heard a scream come from a distance.

"That must be Brittany," I assumed. "Come on, she can't be far."

The three of us led the way while the others followed behind. We went into a deeper part of the sea, losing light.

There was a small light in the distance. As we swam closer, we could hear singing. There was a window that the light was shining through, and I decided to look inside.

Brittany was singing for someone of the realm, I knew that. For whom she was singing for, though, I couldn't tell.

"I knew it," Luna said pulling up beside me. "It's Ursula the sea witch. We have to get her out, but how?"

"Leave that to me," I heard Riku answer. "Hey, you old hag! I bet you can't catch me.

She left the room looking for Riku while I slipped in to get Brittany out.

"Simon!" she yelled. "You're here!"

"Be quiet, Brittany," I whispered. "You don't want her to hear us, do you?"

"Right."

I unwrapped the ropes she was tangled in, and she followed me out of the room. The two us made a quick escape for the ship, making it in just in time.

Donald was giving a lecture to Brittany later that day about how to use her keyblade. I just sat in front of one of the windows. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was Jeanette. I was going insane, but I couldn't help it. I missed her so much.

Ally came to my side. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's hard to explain…" I answered. "It's hard because I've never felt this way about Jeanette before."

"You miss her how much?"

"I more than just miss her… I need her. I can't stand being without her…"

I choked trying to say the next few words. It was the feeling I never had before that made me choke. "I love her."

Ally just stood there, surprised. "I know you've felt that way about me before... but when you say 'love', what do you mean?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure what to feel about anyone anymore."

I watched Ally walk away, but I didn't care if she didn't pay attention.

"Jeanette," I said, "I'll find you… wherever you are… no matter what it takes…

"And if you can hear me… when I say 'I love you', I don't just mean as a friend…

"You're much more deserving than that…

"Please, Jeanette. You're the only thing that matters to me anymore…

"I love you…"


	19. Chapter 19: Many Choices, One Chance

"Hey, guys!" Kairi shouted. "Look who I found!"

On the palm of Kairi's hand was a small fairy in a green dress.

"Tink!" Luna yelled in excitement. "How'd you get here?"

"I knew you guys were coming," the fairy explained. "I could hear you guys coming from a mile away. Anyways, I bear good news and bad news."

"Like what?"

"The good news is: Peter found Sora."

"That's great, but what's the bad news?"

"Sora's being held hostage on Hook's ship, along with someone new to the world."

I sprang up from where I was sitting. "What does this person look like?" I asked.

"Female, older, chipmunk…"

I turned to Lexus. "Can this thing go any faster?"

"We could go at warp speed," he suggested, "but you need to sit down so you don't get airsick."

"I can deal with that. Just get us there as fast as possible."

Everyone sat down and Lex hit the gas. We got there just in time before we ran out of gas.

"Donald, Goofy: you two get gas for the ship," I ordered. "The rest of us will try to fight off Hook."

We separated to complete our mission. The girls were sent by Tink to rescue the lost boys while Riku, Jake, my brothers and I went onto the ship to find Sora.

The rooms under the ship were quiet until we heard rattling chains coming from the room next to us.

"I'm going in," I whispered, slowly walking towards the doorway. I quickly barged in the room, only to see Sora chained against the wall. Apparently, I scared the crap out of him.

"Would you not do that?" he asked furiously. "I thought you were one of Hook's lackeys."

"I thought you were Hook the way you were rattling those things," I defended. "Here, let me get you out of those chains."

Using the 'blade, I cut Sora from the chains and raced out with him to catch up with the others and defeat Hook.

When we arrived on deck, two of his lackeys had someone trying to walk the plank. Their prisoner looked familiar… way too familiar. I had to take action.

"Hey, bastards!" I yelled. "You lookin' for me?"

The lackeys fell for the trap. I shoved them off and clocked 'em with the keyblade.

As gently as I could, I scaled the plank and made it to the other end.

"Hold on, Mom," I assured. "I'll get you out of this."

"Thank goodness," she sighed with relief. "It's only you, Simon."

I carefully took her back on deck, where Sora held his 'blade up to Hook's neck. "You're finished," he said.

"You win this round, boy," Hook growled, "but you'll regret it once I get a hold of ya."

We got back on the ship and pulled Sora up. "A little late for that, Hook."

When everyone finally arrived on the ship, my mother pulled me aside.

"That was very brave of you," she complimented. "You must get that from your brother."

I shrugged, smiling. "I guess so," I agreed.

"Are you hurt?"

I laughed. "I'm fine, Mom. I'm more worried about you than me."

"Besides almost being tossed off a ship, I guess I'm okay."

"Good, I'm glad."

I took a deep breath. "Mom, I need some advice. Let's just say I have this certain feeling about someone that I've never felt about them before. How do I let them know?"

She smiled. "You need to just tell her how you feel."

"But I'm afraid of how she'll take it."

"In that case, do what your heart tells you to do. Whatever happens happens."

"I guess you're right. I just need to do what I know is the right thing."

_The only question is_, I thought to myself, _what is the right thing to do?_ I guess I just had to find out on my own.


	20. Chapter 20: Nightmare

"Where's the last place we have to go?" I asked, tapping my fingers on the windowsill.

"The Beast's Castle," Donald answered nervously. "It seems Maleficent wants us to accept the challenge and have the duels there."

"But we didn't find everyone yet!"

"She says we will when we get there."

"This is great," Riku groaned. "She's sending us on a wild goose chase!"

"Calm down, Riku," Luna said. Her face suddenly lit up. "Maybe it's not. Since Roxas is the only one left, he has to be with the Heartless!"

"Wait a minute…" Brittany interrupted. "What about our sister?"

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Donald complained.

"We're here," Lexus announced solemnly. "Everybody get the hell out so we can find Roxas and Brittany and Eleanor's sister."

Everyone did as ordered and started looking. Only a selected few, including myself, decided to go in the castle (and when I say selected few, it was just pretty much me, Luna and Sora).

We came upon the dining hall, where three men in black robes were waiting for us.

The one in the middle laughed. "So, this is whom they chose to be your replacement?" he laughed. "He's just a kid! He'll never make it out alive…" He grinned. "I like it."

"Leave him alone, Axel!" Luna defended. "He may be a kid, but I bet you he could kick your ass!"

He grinned evilly again. "I accept. Get ready for the fight of your life! Come on, boys! Let's send this kid packing!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roxas standing next to Axel, and on the other side was… Riku.

"You betrayed us, you jerk!" Luna shouted, pointing to Riku.

"Back up, Luna," Sora advised. "Things are about to get ugly."

I attacked first, hitting Axel clear across the face. He came back with a powerful move, knocking me to the ground.

I felt someone pick me up and get me back on my feet. Riku smiled and motioned that he was on my side. I went for Roxas while Riku went for Axel. Able to get the both of them to their knees, I went over to Axel with the only question I had since I arrived.

"Where's Jeanette?" I asked. "My best friend?"

"I'm afraid you're too late," he answered smugly. "She's already where she belongs."

I angrily turned to Riku. "Keep these two down. I'm going to find her… alone."

I raced out to find Jeanette. The castle was so extensive I didn't know where to start. I decided to think of the most likely place I'd find her.

Then, it hit me. _The library…_

I went to the wing with the castle's library in it. I found her sitting in a chair, her nose in a book.

"I knew you'd come look for me here," she admitted. "You know me too well."

She turned her chair towards me. She was wearing an outfit I had never seen on her before: a black skin-tight jumpsuit with a purple heart in the middle of the chest and black high-heeled boots.

"What happened to you?" I asked, taken aback by the sudden change.

Just then, someone appeared behind her. "She's one of us," the woman answered.

I recognized the witch from somewhere. She looked like she had been in every realm.

Then, I remembered the note at the very beginning of our journey. Her speech was the same.

_This is Maleficent_, I realized.

The next thing I realized seemed to be my worst nightmare. I never thought it could ever happen.

Jeanette wasn't on my side anymore.

She was one of _them…_


	21. Chapter 21: Slipped Away

"You innocent mortal," Maleficent said, circling around the chair Jeanette was sitting in. "You think you can outsmart the Heartless?"

I didn't answer. The intimidation was killing me.

She rose. "Well, think again!" she roared, disappearing into thin air.

All of a sudden, the walls around us started to sink into the floor and the ceiling started to rise. Around us suddenly appeared what seemed to have been an arena, with Maleficent in the announcer's booth.

"Let the duel begin!" she exclaimed. "Key Bearer, choose one of your friends here to fight off our first rookie."

Out from the Heartless' side came Danielle. Now, I was really confused.

Maleficent could see the look on my face. "They joined by choice, my dear boy," she explained. "Now, please. Choose somebody already."

I thought about it for a minute, making sure I saved my strongest allies for last. "I choose Eleanor."

Eleanor's key appeared in her hand, and she stepped forward.

Maleficent laughed. "Now, choose three more," she ordered as Hilary, Tracy and Sammie appeared by Danielle's side.

I knew that was going to happen. "Alvin! Brittany! Theodore!" The three appeared by Eleanor's side, keyblades in hand.

"Fight!" Maleficent signaled.

My choices seemed fitting for the purpose. Alvin and Brittany were able to defeat Tracy and Danielle, whom I considered the two strongest. It took a bit of time, but Theodore and Eleanor were able to make Hilary and Sammie give in.

Alvin and Brittany took Theodore and Eleanor out of the ring when the hearts of my former friends were being sucked out of them. The four hearts disappeared, leaving them dead.

"Take them out of here," Maleficent ordered her lackeys. "Alright, key bearer. You're winning four to one. Let's see if you're as strong as you seem to be. Jeanette, if you would, please…"

"Of course," she answered, glaring at me.

_Oh no_, I thought. _It had to be her, didn't it?_

Both keyblades in hand, we prepared for what could be the first of many fights between us.

Jeanette came at me first, knocking me off of my feet. I knew what she wanted, that I knew for sure, but I just wasn't sure how she would take it.

I had an idea. "Riku!" I yelled between breaths. "Talk to her!"

He knew exactly what I meant. "Jeanette, it's me, Riku," he said. "I know what really happened to your guardian, Miss Miller."

"So do I. Why do you think I'm fighting him?"

"No, Jeanette. It's not him. You have to listen to me! I'm your partner for God's sake!"

Jeanette got up off of me and turned towards Riku. "I'm listening."

"It wasn't your friend here. The Heartless wanted the two of you split up so that way they could conquer all of the worlds in existence."

She turned to me. "So it wasn't you after all?"

I nodded no. She was about to hug me when Maleficent grabbed her by the arm, grabbing the keyblade out of Jeanette's hand.

"You sicken me, Riku," Maleficent hissed. "And as for you…" She pointed the keyblade at me. "Make one wrong move and she's dead!"

I couldn't help myself. I had to kill her before she killed Jeanette. I came out fighting and hit her in just the right spot to get her agitated.

_Could I be that stupid?_ I thought. _I just ruined my only chance to save her life._

She shoved the keyblade into Jeanette, releasing her heart into the air. Before it disappeared, it seemed as if someone grabbed it while it was still whole.

I was furious. "Let the rest of her go!" I yelled, holding my keyblade up to her neck. To my advantage, her only weapon – Jeanette's keyblade – disappeared out of her hand and into mine.

She was taken aback. "You are stronger than I thought… fine, I'll let her go, but I swear. You haven't seen the last of me!"

Just then, Maleficent fell to the ground, an enflamed katana pierced into her stomach. Standing behind her was a male with blue spiked hair and a mask covering half of his face. He held out something out of my reach.

"You'll get this back when it's ready," he whispered.

Watching him hurry off made me think he needed to finish something, but it didn't matter.

My worst nightmare had come true: Jeanette was gone, and I never got to tell her how much I loved her.


	22. Chapter 22: Epilogue

It feels like everything I have is still gone. It hurts to think of her name, her face, everything…

I didn't go back home after the fight. I couldn't take being haunted by her memory.

Not like it would help…

**_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house  
That don't bother me  
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out  
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while  
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me  
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok  
But that's not what gets me_**

All I ever do anymore is just stare out at the ocean, thinking about her…

**_What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was tryin' to do_**

There had been times when I wanted to turn the Keyblade on myself, but Luna was always there to stop me. The pain never leaves me. It was my mistake that had her die in the first place…

**_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go  
But I'm doin' It  
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone  
Still harder  
Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret  
But I know if I could do it over  
I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart  
That I left unspoken_**

It's my fault everything happened to her… maybe I don't deserve her after all…

**_What hurts the most  
Is being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do_**

If only she knew how I felt right now… if only she could know everything I knew…

**_What hurts the most  
Is being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do_**

I can't take it anymore… I need you here with me, Jeanette…

**_Not seeing that loving you  
That's what I was trying to do_**

Goodbye, my love…


End file.
